Top heel lift



May 11, 1965 J. P. E. ORTEGATORRES EIAL 3,

TOP HEEL LIFT Filed July 17, 1963 FIG. 1

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INVENTORS Jose .ORTEGA TORRES Juuo .J. SAVON AT TORN EY United States Patent 3,182,408 TOP HEEL LIFT Jose P. E. Ortega Torres and Julio L. J. Savon, both of Emilio Civit 5447, Buenos Aires, Argentina Filed July 17, 1963, Ser. No. 295,697 1 Claim. (Cl. 3634) This invention relates to a new type of interchangeable heel lift for ladies shoes. More particularly, it relates to a removable, attachable heel lift for use in conjunction with the thin or spiked heels of womens shoes.

Heretofore, in womens shoes, the portion of the heel known as the heel lift is a cover, which is usually changeable and covers the lower face of the high heel. This portion in due course due to wear and tear must either be rebuilt or the whole heel replaced, thereby entailing additional expense, particularly in those types of womens high heeled shoes which are very expensive. Due to the demands of fashion and the present predominant esthetic concept of fashionable shoes, the shapes of heels underwent gradual modifications until they attained a degree of elegant stature which, while contemplating perfectly the esthetic concept, culminated in changes in construction of womens shoe heels which reduce the useful life of the entire shoe. Accordingly, therefore, shoes are made in which a heel lift is made of leather and fastened to the heel which is usually made of wood or involved in a central nailing system when the heel is made of aluminum.

This type of heel lift and its corresponding system of fastening are relatively efficient during the first two or three replacements of the heel lift, because during that period the wood remains sufi'iciently intact in order to retain the nails which fasten the heel lift; but after a certain number of replacements of the heel lift, the fastening does not offer, any longer, any guarantees that it will stick. This is one reason why the replacement of the heel lifts must be effected more and more often, due to which the heel lift is not completely worn out, but is lost while the woman is walking, especially if under certain conditions the woman walks on an uneven pavement, on cobblestones or on such means of transportation, as escalators, gratings, etc., in which the heel lift enters into holes or grooves separating itself from the heel proper. As a result there is considerable embarassment and inconvenience to the wearer.

The loss of the heel lifts of the heels represents not only the problem of replacing them, by sending the shoe to the shoemaker, but such has also caused, in addition, the more serious inconvenience which may be caused if the woman continues to walk, when a heel lift is lost. Without the lift heel the heel proper must support all the effort of walking, deforming itself rapidly and thus reducing the useful life of the shoe.

Due to these inconveniences, there were conceived numerous attempts, to a greater or small degree, to effect a solution to these disadvantages and shortcomings of high heels. With this purpose in mind, there were published various inventions which, with the undeniable valuable advantages offered by new plastic materials, attempted to give an adequate structure to the working conditions which undergoes the heel lift.

There were two essential aims in view; one which attempted to prolong the life or duration of the heel lift, and another which intended to obtain a system of adaptation of the heel, adequate to support the great number of replacements of the heel lift, without altering or damaging its constructive parts.

With the above in view, it is an object of the present invention to obtain a new construction in a shoe heel in which, while showing the modern fashion therein, there "ice is provided a replaceable or removable heel lift to permit maintenance of the shoe.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a heel lift which can readily be attached to or detached from a heel of a shoe and which readily merges with the contour or outline of the heel so as to be esthetically considered an integral part of the heel.

The principal characteristics and features of the present invention will be hereinafter revealed which, when the shoe is properly worn, a number of replacements of the heel lift may be made so as to give to this heel lift a functional effectiveness that is practically an ideal element of its kind.

For greater clarity and understanding of the objects and features of the present invention, the same will be illustrated and described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment in which:

FIG. 1 is a section in elevation of a wood heel showing the general form of the means of fastening the heel lift and its placing on the heel.

FIG. 2 is a cross section of view of FIG. 1 taken on line 2-2 showing the disposition of the lamellar cover, which partially covers the sides of the heel lift.

FIG. 3 is a cross section of a view of a different form of heel in which the lamellar or laminar cover covers the whole of the external material of the heel lift; and

' FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the form of the lateral cover of the heel lift shown in FIG. 2, in which there can be seen the play of the apertures, which increase the effectiveness of the insertion.

Referring now to the drawings in which the same reference numbers indicate in the various figures the same or corresponding parts, there is provided a heel lift 10 attached to the bottom part of a heel 11. Said heel lift is provided with a protruding member 12, having a truncated shape which protrudes normally from a mass 13, preferably of molded thermoplastic material, and which constitutes the heel lift proper. Said heel lift 10 is provided with an enlarged polygonal base portion 14, which is imbedded in the body of the mass 13.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the heel lift 19, and more particularly the mass or part 13 of the same, are partially surrounded by a metallic laminating supporting cover 15, which, being bent in accordance with the shape of the heel lift, presents two extreme supports 16, and two apertures 17, situated in respective intermediate pieces of the cited cover to receive and hold the thermoplastic material and to act as a reinforcement.

On the other hand, in accordance with the modification shown in FIG. 3, another form of cover 18 is provided having overlapping terminal portions 19, which can be consolidated by being soldered, and which assist in the total structure of the heel lift 10. In this manner there are also included the apertures 20 for increasing the degree of adherence with the plastic material to support the same from fracture or crumbling.

In heel 11 there is provided an artificial casing or housing 21. Said housing has a cavity 22 having its entry mouth on the lower face of the heel. Its interior has preferably a truncated shape of the same contour or outline for accommodating the member 12 therein. Both the portionl i of the member 12 and the housing or casing 21 present channeling or a groove 23 and 24 respectively to increase the fixation in the material forming the heel and the heel lift, respectively.

The functional conception of the present invention includes, among others of its advantageous characteristics, the fact that the'proper use or wear of the shoe can permit the replacement of the heel lift of the heels, if they were previously damaged.

Since the constituent material of the heel lift is wearing outwhen the woman is using shoes with the invention,

and until such time that the extremity 14 of the member 1 2 shows, this is an indication that it is necessary to put on new heel lifts. This piece 12 can be provided with a hollow space 25 disposed on the extreme face of the enlarged portion 14, in a manner that the plastic material which occupies the same increases the friction when theheel lift becomes damaged and the metal becomes visible, avoiding in this way an eventual slipping on a floor or pavement, due to excess of metallic parts in contact with the same.

The replacing of the heel lift against the lower face of the heel is easily accomplished by inserting anew member 12 into the cavity 22,.taking care that the shape of the section of the heel corresponds to the contour of the heel lift. It will then suffice to impart a slight push in order that the. member 12 wedges into the cavity 22. This push may be simply accomplished by a blow of the heel against the earth.

The extraction of the damaged heel lift is effected with the aid of a pair of pliers by taking the lift and turning it slightly until the-materials are unwedged from the member 21. and its corresponding cavity.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated, it will be noted that modifications as to details of the construction and formand use of materials may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed herein.

We claim:

In a ladies shoe, a 'heel having a vertically disposed housing embedded therein with the lower end thereof flush with the bottom of said'heel, said housing being provided With a centrally disposed frusto-conical socket which extends upwardly and inwardly frornthe lower end ofsaid housing, a replaceable heel lift, of molded thermo-plastic material, which is adaptedto be removably secured to said heel, a base member. embedded in said heel lift, a

frusto-conical plug which .is integralwith said base member and extends out through and upwardly from the top surface of said heel lift, said vfrusto-conical plug which is complementary to said frusto-conical, socket being adapted to be wedged into said socket. to'thereby removably secure said heel lift to saidheel, and said heel lift'having a semi-circular band applied to 'theperipherythereof with the ends of said band turned inwardly and rearwardly into said heel lift.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 898,233 9/08 Lincoln 3673 1,644,784, 10/27 Littman 36-36 2,216,430 10/40 Brudsig 3636 2,264,742 12/41 Colburn 3673 2,349,479 5/44 Van Sant 36-73 2,444,777, 7/48 Kerngood 36-75 2,923,071 2/60 Whitted 36--36 Trela 36-36 FOREIGN PATENTS 960,159 -10/ 49 France. 1,266,992 6/61 France. 582,074 11/46- Great Britain.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

FRANK JFCOHEN, Examiner.

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